http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/-t1.htm Mr. Columnist himself presents weekly analysis and tips. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:50:16 GMT 10 http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8172/cooltext405841452gd1.jpg http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/-t1.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-23-saw-vi-astro-boy-the-vampire-s-assistant-amelia-t845.htm Shrykespeare It sure is refreshing to see an uptick in box office totals this month, given how truly awful September was, isn’t it? After a month that saw exactly one breakout hit (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which not only broke $100 million in receipts this week but now has a staggering 18 Top 5 points to go along with it), October has rallied with three consecutive strong performances from it’s #1s: Zombieland, Couples Retreat and Where the Wild Things Are. All three of those movies are ... Speare's Tips Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:50:16 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-23-saw-vi-astro-boy-the-vampire-s-assistant-amelia-t845.htm#28527 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-23-saw-vi-astro-boy-the-vampire-s-assistant-amelia-t845.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-16-where-the-wild-things-are-law-abiding-citizen-the-stepfather-t839.htm Shrykespeare Wow. Is Paranormal Activity the next Blair Witch Project or what?! Who would have thought that this little film, driven almost exclusively by Internet marketing, hype and word-of-mouth, could have come out of nowhere and broken the record for highest-grossing weekend of all time by a film showing in less than 200 theaters? (For the record, it made over $7 million in only 160 theaters, for a PTA of around $44,000. That is freakin’ impressive, people. If only its touch-and-go release ... Speare's Tips Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:36:49 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-16-where-the-wild-things-are-law-abiding-citizen-the-stepfather-t839.htm#28163 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-16-where-the-wild-things-are-law-abiding-citizen-the-stepfather-t839.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-film-of-10-9-couples-retreat-plus-top-ten-most-anticipated-films-of-winter-t832.htm Shrykespeare Hats off to Zombieland, for taking in nearly $25 million and ending Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ “rain” at the top. On a weekend that was originally supposed to have heralded Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, it was two comedies that held sway over the rest of the field, which singularly failed to impress in any way. As we soldier into the heart of October, what will these mean as far as box office trends go? Well, October, along with the changing of the colors of the ... Speare's Tips Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:15:49 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-film-of-10-9-couples-retreat-plus-top-ten-most-anticipated-films-of-winter-t832.htm#27800 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-film-of-10-9-couples-retreat-plus-top-ten-most-anticipated-films-of-winter-t832.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-2-zombieland-whip-it-invention-of-lying-t813.htm Shrykespeare Special thanks to silversurfer for taking the burden of analyzing the weekly limited-release features off my shoulders. It’s really not that I didn’t enjoy including what was previously talked about so professionally by Chien, but it really is a relief not having to carry all the water. And now that I don’t have to worry about spreading myself too thin any more, I can go back to what I was doing before. Now… what was that again? (Grin.) The weekend of October 2nd kicks off the ... Speare's Tips Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:50:31 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-2-zombieland-whip-it-invention-of-lying-t813.htm#27446 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-10-2-zombieland-whip-it-invention-of-lying-t813.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-25-surrogates-fame-pandorum-capitalism-a-love-story-et-al-t802.htm Shrykespeare We are on the doorstep of our SEVENTH cut in the Full-Year Super Leagues. Nine months ago, we started with around sixty stalwart competitors, and now we are down to just over twenty left. Two more brutal cuts to go, and what few remain will go for the gold. (And, I will remind you again, the Gold Medal Round for all leagues will start in only two weeks!) It was good to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs get out to a fast start. Most of us expected it, and lo, it came true, the first ... Speare's Tips Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:19:08 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-25-surrogates-fame-pandorum-capitalism-a-love-story-et-al-t802.htm#27109 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-25-surrogates-fame-pandorum-capitalism-a-love-story-et-al-t802.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-18-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-jennifer-s-body-the-informant-love-happens-t792.htm Shrykespeare Note to all Super League players: we are coming up on the beginning of the October season, which, in case you didn’t know, is the FINAL ROUND in the Super Leagues. Assuming you survive the July, August and September cuts, this next round is the one that you HAVE to win. This is the round that determines a champion. So, when picking lineups, do so carefully. One bad pick could very well cost you the title. (And for those of you on the pricing committee, get your pricing schemes in to me ... Speare's Tips Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:47:19 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-18-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-jennifer-s-body-the-informant-love-happens-t792.htm#26748 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-18-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-jennifer-s-body-the-informant-love-happens-t792.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/very-important-announcement-everyone-read-this-post-t788.htm Shrykespeare Fellow Fantaversians, I am happy to inform you that big things are afoot. Things that, if they are seen to fruition, could mean a bigger, better home for the Fantaverse, the game, and all who dwell within its borders. I began talks almost a year ago with the former player known as MrHam (real name: Matt) and his friend David, who is a web designer (and who I now officially make an honorary member of the 'verse). They had a plan to rebuild my website, thelatestmoviereviews.com, from ... Speare's Tips Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:08:00 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/very-important-announcement-everyone-read-this-post-t788.htm#26621 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/very-important-announcement-everyone-read-this-post-t788.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/shryke-s-thread-check-for-the-latest-developments-t569.htm Shrykespeare Hey all. Being without my computer for nearly a week made me realize just how much I do around here (all modesty aside), and how hard it is to catch up when I'm away. So, I'm going to start a thread, which I will be using from now on to make announcements. This does not mean that I won't be posting on other threads, far from it, but I've found that a lot of important stuff often gets lost in the shuffle once "news" gets relegated to a "previous" page. But in ... Speare's Tips Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:45:13 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/shryke-s-thread-check-for-the-latest-developments-t569.htm#19026 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/shryke-s-thread-check-for-the-latest-developments-t569.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-9-9-11-i-can-do-bad-all-by-myself-sorority-row-9-whiteout-et-al-t775.htm Shrykespeare Scramble time. I might as well make this announcement first, as it has a direct impact (no pun intended) on the game. When I wrote last week’s column, I wasn’t sure whether No Impact Man was going to be released on 9/4 or 9/11, as different sources gave me conflicting data. But now, it seems that it will indeed be coming out THIS coming weekend, which means it is still available to be picked up or dropped. Additionally, it looks like The Red Canvas, which I removed from the list weeks ... Speare's Tips Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:10:28 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-9-9-11-i-can-do-bad-all-by-myself-sorority-row-9-whiteout-et-al-t775.htm#26284 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-9-9-11-i-can-do-bad-all-by-myself-sorority-row-9-whiteout-et-al-t775.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-4-gamer-all-about-steve-extract-et-al-t762.htm Shrykespeare Wow. I must say, I am amazed. I saw a total of five films in theaters this August, and I absolutely loved four of them. That’s right, 80% of the movies that I saw I gave a personal rating of 8/10 or higher, those being: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (9/10), District 9 (9/10), Julie & Julia (8/10), and, this past weekend, Inglourious Basterds (8/10). I mean, that’s a better percentage of quality than any other month this year. In August?! Who’da thunk it? (The one loser was The ... Speare's Tips Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:22:36 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-4-gamer-all-about-steve-extract-et-al-t762.htm#25700 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-9-4-gamer-all-about-steve-extract-et-al-t762.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-28-halloween-ii-final-destination-4-taking-woodstock-et-al-t748.htm Shrykespeare Ahh, the fall season. This might just be my favorite time of the year. What? What’s that you say? Oh, right. The start of the summer season is right up there too, but there’s a difference. In early May, you know what’s coming: an unbroken string of potential big-budget blockbusters, one right after the other. And there’s something to be said for that. But also remember, I live in Arizona, where the temperatures between May and August are always above 100 degrees, and quite often ... Speare's Tips Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:16:07 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-28-halloween-ii-final-destination-4-taking-woodstock-et-al-t748.htm#25107 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-28-halloween-ii-final-destination-4-taking-woodstock-et-al-t748.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-21-inglourious-basterds-shorts-post-grad-et-al-t731.htm Shrykespeare So now I’m 40. Sigh. I don’t feel any different. I don’t feel middle-aged any more than I felt like a grown-up once I hit 18, like a mature guy when I hit 30, or like an idiot when I hit that parked car last week. (He swerved right in front of me, dammit!) Seriously, though, thanks for all of your awesome well-wishes on the boards, I really really do appreciate them. You guys are the wind beneath my… no, that’s way too sappy… you’re the… um, um… no, wait, it’ll come ... Speare's Tips Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:25:29 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-21-inglourious-basterds-shorts-post-grad-et-al-t731.htm#24513 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-21-inglourious-basterds-shorts-post-grad-et-al-t731.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-14-district-9-the-time-traveler-s-wife-bandslam-the-goods-et-al-t721.htm Shrykespeare Well, as we plod our way through the remnants of summer, it is time for me to put electronic pen to virtual paper my final column before I officially reach the dreaded “middle” age. Come Monday, August 17th, I will be a “quatrogenarian”. I will be but ten short years away from “fogyhood”. Yeah, I know, turning 40 is nothing to be ashamed of, but then, it isn’t really something to look forward to, is it? I guess I can finally kiss my childhood dream of becoming an Olympic gymnast ... Speare's Tips Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:22:55 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-14-district-9-the-time-traveler-s-wife-bandslam-the-goods-et-al-t721.htm#23987 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-14-district-9-the-time-traveler-s-wife-bandslam-the-goods-et-al-t721.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-7-gi-joe-the-rise-of-cobra-julie-julia-a-perfect-getaway-et-al-t701.htm Shrykespeare Sigh. It’s the beginning of the end, folks. One can’t help but be a little wistful at this point in the calendar. The best is now behind us, and we move on to the filler months. And while August, September and October are not TOTALLY devoid of quality, there are barely any titles that you can vociferously point to and yell “Surefire hit!” And though it is unlikely to pan out as such, there is a lingering possibility that the three-month period separating the summer season from the ... Speare's Tips Tue, 04 Aug 2009 04:56:04 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-7-gi-joe-the-rise-of-cobra-julie-julia-a-perfect-getaway-et-al-t701.htm#23471 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-8-7-gi-joe-the-rise-of-cobra-julie-julia-a-perfect-getaway-et-al-t701.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-31-funny-people-aliens-in-the-attic-et-al-t688.htm Shrykespeare Wow, a 62% drop for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in its second week, despite the sixth chapter being one of the best-reviewed of the bunch, and having gotten out to the best start of the entire franchise. I can only believe that the rather anti-climactic ending (not much action, only a shocking twist, and that’s all), is what’s to blame for the dwindling number of return-viewers. At this point, $300 million now seems unlikely, and the waiting period officially begins for Part ... Speare's Tips Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:24:03 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-31-funny-people-aliens-in-the-attic-et-al-t688.htm#22878 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-31-funny-people-aliens-in-the-attic-et-al-t688.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-24-g-force-the-ugly-truth-orphan-et-al-t670.htm Shrykespeare Gadzooks, $158 million! Kudos to the Harry Potter folks, as Half-Blood Prince got off to the fastest start in franchise history. Even though the story was, for me, the least exciting of the bunch, I know that it is merely serving as a platform for the epic two-part seventh and final chapter in the series, The Deathly Hallows, which I can now not wait for. And also kudos to those wily players who chose 500 Days of Summer, which outslugged the boy wizard in PTA by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. ... Speare's Tips Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:28:41 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-24-g-force-the-ugly-truth-orphan-et-al-t670.htm#22346 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-24-g-force-the-ugly-truth-orphan-et-al-t670.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-15-7-17-harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-et-al-t660.htm Shrykespeare Hard to believe the juiciest part of the summer season is almost over, isn’t it? Yes, folks, the summer that began with so much promise a mere ten weeks ago is now in it’s second half, and when a short time ago, all of the potential blockbusters were ahead of us, now they are all behind us. All except one, that is. One really REALLY big film left to tantalize audiences, one year exactly after another monstrously large film broke all kinds of records and left with the distinction of being ... Speare's Tips Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:55:16 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-15-7-17-harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-et-al-t660.htm#21809 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-15-7-17-harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-et-al-t660.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-10-bruno-i-love-you-beth-cooper-t642.htm Shrykespeare Is it just me, or does it seem like just about every movie that’s come out this summer has either vastly overachieved or vastly underachieved? Consider that Star Trek, Up, The Hangover, The Proposal and perhaps even Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have done even better than the most optimistic projections foretold (although in the case of Transformers, things will probably calm down a whole lot in the next couple of weeks). On the other end of the coin, most Fantaversians would probably ... Speare's Tips Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:11:03 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-10-bruno-i-love-you-beth-cooper-t642.htm#21315 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-10-bruno-i-love-you-beth-cooper-t642.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-1-ice-age-dawn-of-the-dinosaurs-public-enemies-t628.htm Shrykespeare Holy moly. $200 million?! I mean, I knew Transformers was going to open big, but this tops even my wildest expectations… I began to wonder, based on all the negative reviews, whether $400 million was even possible. Now, the only question that remains is, will it have legs, or will it be like Wolverine, which made very nearly half of its total take in its first three days? One would think that any film debuting the weekend after such a monstrous windfall would almost certainly ... Speare's Tips Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:13:34 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-1-ice-age-dawn-of-the-dinosaurs-public-enemies-t628.htm#20824 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-7-1-ice-age-dawn-of-the-dinosaurs-public-enemies-t628.htm http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-6-24-6-26-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-my-sister-s-keeper-t616.htm Shrykespeare On July 4th, 2007, a little film called Transformers debuted. It was loud, jam-packed with action, superb special effects, and enough droll humor to keep moviegoers of all ages engaged. In other words, a Michael Bay film. Or, more specifically, a Michael-Bay-with-a-blank-check-from-the-studios-in-his-back-pocket film. It rolled to an opening (5-day) weekend total of $155 million, en route to a total take of just under $320 million overall, good enough for the third-largest film of ... Speare's Tips Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:02:04 GMT http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-6-24-6-26-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-my-sister-s-keeper-t616.htm#20372 http://thefantaverse.forumotion.net/speare-s-tips-f13/speare-s-tips-the-films-of-6-24-6-26-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-my-sister-s-keeper-t616.htm